Spiders
by DeathCaller13
Summary: A female shinobi has been blamed for the many deaths of her fellow citizens in a nearby village. Once rescued from sacrificial death, Kumo gains the trust of Naruto and friends, but leaves no mercy for her enemies. Who's afraid of spiders?
1. Chapter 1

**_My first Naruto fanfic! I'm so excited. I really like the character I created. Anywho, the whole background to how this fanfic was created is that I was on and saw some Naruto quizzes. In particular, there were a few quizzes title "Whose your baby's daddy?" (they were titled differently, but to the same effect). Well, I took them out of curiosity, and because I'm going through a Narutard stage right now. lol The results were so cute! The only question in the quiz let you choose the character that you would like to be the father or "You should know is the father", and they have short stories about yourself telling that character that you're pregnant with their child! I couldn't help but giggle with the results I got. Who did I get? You'll find out later in the fanfic. I'll just keep everyone guessing. _**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its originality. I only own Kumo and the story plot for this fanfic. _

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****Chapter 1**

They raced through the forest, branches and other sorts of brush whisping by the two shinobi as they leapt from tree to tree. One man, his light grey hair fashioned to tilt to one side, was named Kakashi. His ally, who's coal, black, bowl cut hair and unnaturally thick brows, gave him the easily recognizable appearance as Gai.

"_There's been a disturbance in a nearby village,"_ Tsunade's voice ran through their minds as they prepared themselves for what was expected to be a dangerous mission, _"Our client requested an urgent response. It seems that the Feudal Lord's life has been threatened by one of his villagers. He wants our strongest shinobi to protect him._" Of course, Gai and Kakashi weren't the strongest in the Hidden Leaf Village, but everyone else had already been sent on missions. They were quite powerful, anyway. Surely these two could still handle the situation with little problems.

"Hm?" Gai glanced at a strange sight near the forest floor as he and Kakashi passed it by. "Kakashi, do you know of any spiders that travel in large groups?"

They continued to travel during their discussion - their misison was at stake. "Not that I know of."

"There's more up ahead. Should we investigate?" Gai noticed how more and more spiders of many different species began to head in the same direction. They were concentrating on getting to something. What, though?

Kakashi noticed a silluette of a human sitting on its knees up ahead, directly to where the many spiders were going. "We might have to."

Reaching the small clearing, the two shinobi landed a few yards in front of the form and realized what they saw. Insence, freshly burnt out, was lined up in front of the unconscious girl - eight bowls, to be exact. Tied to the large metal poll that the girl was also bound to, was a purification tag. A sacrifice? They studied the sight further on. The young woman wore a kahki, short sleeved, fishnet shirt that reached to mid stomach, a black strapless bra of sorts under it, and white wraps to cover from bra to hips. Her light blue shorts had two kahki pouches strapped to each leg, and kahki fishnets to allow her shorts to reach her knees. Long, curly, ocean blue hair was pulled back in three black ties to reveal her soft lips sewn together.

Shocked by such a sight, neither Kakashi nor Gai knew what to say. It took a few moments for one to react, Kakashi being the one. He studied the victim's darkly lined eyes. They had dried blood around them, some of the red excretion still seeping from any open pores that hadn't scabbed over yet. Was the black eyeliner tattooed on her swollen eyelids? The Copy Ninja walked around to see what the girl was bound by. He found metal links tightly wrapped around her wrists, tiny metal claws from the links dug deep into her bleeding skin like hooks as they held fast.

"Who...?" A stir from next to him stopped Kakashi from finishing.

"She's awake," Gai knelt in front of the girl, lifting her head by her chin to maybe gain eye contact. "This is sick. What monster would do such a thing?" He could barely see the grey eyes gazing at thim through the swollen scabbed lids.

Reaching for the binds, Kakashi ordered, "Cover her mouth tightly. I don't want her ripping her lips."

Gai nodded and did as he was told, whispering to the girl, "It's okay. You're safe now."

He found the main link in the torturous bind and unlocked it. "Ready?" Kakashi received a nod from his mission partner, who tightly covered the girl's sewn mouth with his hand.

It wasn't enough, though. One quick powerful pull, and they could hear the ripping flesh ride along with the metal claws. A blood curtling scream emitted from behind Gai's hand. He could feel her lips opening to allow her cry of despair to escape and the thread cutting through them. Blood trickled down from between his hand and her mouth. The coal haired shinobi nearly gawked, knowing that such wounds would leave terrible scars - it had already created tremendous pain. He lifted his hand once she quieted down, and found that the threads had only torn halfway down. Kakashi was already tightly wrapping her wrists with spare bandages to cease the heavy bleeding. They soon had her hoisted onto Gai's back and quickly began their journey back to the Leaf Village.

The girl had fallen unconscious during the two hour trip. Strangely, her bleeding had soon stopped within the first half hour. As Kakashi watched her wounds for excessive bleeding, he noticed tiny, sand colored spiders crawl into her body through the cuts on her lips and digging their way through the bandages on her wrists to get to the the deep wounds there. Were they gathering clot cells within her body to hasten the clotting process? He suspected so, realizing that she was more than likely a Spider Ninja.

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"We'll hold her in the hosptial until her wounds fully heal," Tsunade assured the Copy and Taijutsu Ninjas. She turned to her assistant, Shizune, and ordered, "Let's have some gloves made for her. We can at least cover those scars so no one thinks ill of her." Shizune nodded and walked out of the hospital room to ask the village's seamstress to do as requested.

The Fifth Hokage stared at the blue haired girl lying asleep in the hospital bed. She studied the stitched wrists and lips. Ointments glaxed the thickly black-lined eyes to decrease the swelling. Tsunade would have to ask questions later. She quietly walked out, carefully shutting the door behind her, and returned to her office.

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They had left immediately, returning to their mission after giving the mysterious girl to the Hokage. Trees rushing by even faster as they leapt from one limb to another. Kakashi and Gai prepared themselves for questions from the Feudal Lord unto why they were so late.

Soon reaching the small village within three hours time, the two shinobi found their way the client's home. Very few ninjas were raised there, but none remained for very long. Bowing with respect and taking a seat across the small table between themselves and the Feudal Lord, Gai and Kakashi began to question the situation.

"What, exactly, is threatening you?" Gai quirked a heavy brow as he made eye contact with the well dressed man.

Sighing, the Lord explained, "Not what. Who. There as been chaos in my village, all being caused by a single female shinobi. At first, we didn't think her bond with spiders would be troublesome, but many deaths from her pets have been occuring." The Leaf Ninjas looked to each other, suspecting something with the story, and let their client, Lord Yuki, continue. "My adviser's son had been killed by one of the girl's spiders while playing with her. That boy looked up to her so much," Yuki mumbled. "Afterward, the death rate increased - all by spider bites! With the other villagers attacking Kumo, we've begun to fear that she may attack me soon."

"Where is she now?" Kakashi questioned. He feared he already knew the answer.

Lord Yuki looked away, almost embarrassed for some reason, "A few of my villagers took matters into their own hands and captured Kumo while she was asleep. The girl didn't care to be awake during the day."

"But where is she?" The pressure was rising now. Gai rushed the Feudal Lord to answer them.

He was hesitant, but he soon answered, "Dead - as I've been told. They brought her deep into the forest and sacrificed her, hoping that the spiders would stop attacking us."

Looking to each other, Kakashi and Gai nodded. "So everything here is taken care of," Kakashi suggested.

"Yes. I'm sorry this was a waste of time."

"Not at all," the Copy and Taijutsu Ninjas stood and bowed. "We needed the information," Gai answered in assurance. Without another word, the two exited the room and began their journey back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Do you think this Kumo girl will be a threat to our village?" Not bothering to look at his teammate, Gai continued to watch for obstacles ahead.

Kakashi thought over the matter. If she was a threat to the village, he and Gai would be in some serious trouble with Lady Tsunade. "I have suspicions about this whole scenario. When Kumo wakes up, we'll question her."

The thick-browed Ninja only nodded, knowing that it was always best to hear both sides of the story before making conclusions. They soon returned to their village and reported the results to Lady Tsunade. She, too, grew suspicious and waited to be alerted for when the strange girl had awoken.

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**_Please review! It's been a while since I've written a fanfic, and I'd like to know if I've improved any. Plus, I want to take a break from Transformers fanfics. lol _**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I'm so very sorry that it's taken me so long to get the second chapter posted. A friend of mine, who also loves Naruto, offered to beta read this fanfic for me. She likes to procrastonate a lot (I can't complain, though, cause I do, too. lol). But, here's the second chapter! And for those of you who reviewed Ch. 1, thank you so much. Here's my reply to them:_**

Pokannicknow: Sorry that I wasn't very clear about the time setting in the fanfic. It's taking place roughly 4 months before the Shippuden series (this way, Kumo can be introduced to the Naruto characters and the readers). As for her age, I'd say she's (I'm going to be slapped for this, cause I'm not sure how old the Naruto gang is...) 15? She's in their age group, no doubt - older than Naruto, though. I'm afraid I'm not sure what all of this "pretime-skip, posttime-skip" stuff is. lol You'd think I'd know this stuff. I'm ashamed.� Thank you, though, for being so interested in my fanfic. 

NeferNeferi: Sorry to hear your internet was being mean. lol I hate when it gets that way for me. As for the canon character is, I have no idea what you're talking about. lol� Kumo is a fanon character, created for the reasons I gave above chapter 1. XD� Her past and origin will be revealed within due time (a few chapters). More and more ideas keep popping in my head concerning why she was sacrificed and whatnot, but it's meant to bug the Hell out of you until given for a reason. :P Thank you for pointing out the grammar issue. I tend to forget to use the semi colons a lot. lol And thank you for liking and reviewing to my story. Much kudos-

TO THE BOTH OF YOU! 

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original Naruto plotline, characters, and such - they belong to Misashi Kishimoto-sensei. Kumo and the plot for this fanfic, however, DO belong to me. If you're going to use any ideas/Kumo, please ask for permission. I'll more than likely say yes to your request, but I'd really appreciate it if you ask first. Thank you! (pfft.. like anyone wants to use my ideas/characters. lol)**

**Chapter 2**

A day had passed; Kumo was still unconscious from her personal tragedy - until a doctor rapped on Lady Tsunade's door. "Come in," the Fifth Hokage answered. The door opened to allow the doctor in the room.

"The girl's awake, Tsunade-sama."

She nodded and shuffled a small stack of papers, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Bowing in acceptance, the middle-aged man exited the office and returned to his duties in the hospital.

As stated, Tsunade entered the small hosptial room where the blue-haired girl lay in her bed, staring out to the large window as the sun shone through. The female Hokage took a seat next to the bed and watched the Spider Ninja continue to send a piercing stare to the outside . "Your name is Kumo; am I right?" She finally broke the silence, causing the questionee to slowly turn her head and gaze deeply into Tsunade's eyes; she nodded just slightly. The blonde woman could see the dark scabbing had thickened around the girl's eyes, the wounds on her lips had sealed well, but where sure to leave visible scars - even her wrists looked strangely well healed - the ripped skin seemed less serious than they had before. Tsunade noticed tiny sand-colored spiders crawl over and from under the blanket on Kumo; they quickly scuttled along to and from the wounds on the girl.

_She's a Spider Ninja. Is she able to use them to heal wounds? More than likely, the doctors have realized this and left off the bandages for that reason. _Tsunade wasn't an elite Medical Ninja for the hell of it. _I haven't seen this performed in person before. _She brushed it aside and planned to revisit the technique later on. "Do you recall anything before you came here?"

Kumo's mouth opened a bit; she felt the scabs around her lips break slightly at the movement of her skin. It hurt, but she managed to at least utter words in a ventriloquist like fashion. "Yes... I hate them - those memories." Her voice had a deep, depressed tone to it - not a hint of cheer to be heard.

"I need to know what happened, Kumo. Tell me why your village did this to you," she needed answers - fast; Tsunade could tell that the girl was mentally scarred. The whole situation didn't look promising for Kumo's future.

The corners of the pale-skinned girl's mouth began to quiver, her grey eyes grew bloodshot as she tried to hide the tears. Through her emotional battle, she answered, "I had heard about villagers dying one by one each night - all caused by spider bites. Being the only ninja in the village who could control spiders, they began to grow suspicious of me; even the Feudal Lord's advisor was suggesting me as the culprit. I didn't kill them, though... None of my enemies were worth killing. Please," Kumo's tears burst free of her wounded eyes as her mind replayed when she was attacked by the three villagers and prepared as a sacrifice.

Her screams never seemed to be loud enough. While she struggled on the ground, two men held her body as still as they could, the other tattooed the rims of her eyelids. About halfway through what seemed as excruciating hours, they stopped the tattooing process and sewed her mouth shut. Only once they finished the painful work on her eyes did they finally knock her unconscious and set her up in the clearing.

"Please. I don't want to remember my home as my enemy." By now, Kumo didn't care about the pain in her lips; memories were far more unbearable than healable wounds. She sat up and clutched her head, trying to dig her fingers through her skin and skull in hopes to reach her brain.

Lady Tsunade grabbed Kumo's arms and pushed her back down on the bed, pinning the girl's hands away from her body as she began to kick and scream. The Fifth Hokage called out for a doctor, and soon one entered with fear written on his face. 

"Quick! Give her an anesthetic! I want the ANBU in here as soon as possible!" Tsunade knew that once the sleep fluids wore off, this situation would return.

The doctor pulled out a syringe from his coat and injected the fluid into the IV tube. It wasn't a difficult struggle to keep Kumo from flailing about, but it was frustrating. Tsundade held down the girl until she settled, then sighed as she straightened herself out. "Get in touch with the ANBU and tell them to meet me here as soon as they can."

"Yes, ma'am," the doctor ran out of the room, knowing that needing the ANBU was something serious. It wasn't a life or death situation, but they were the only ones capable of doing what the Hokage had in mind.

It wasn't long until the requested skilled shinobi entered the room to find Lady Tsunade sitting in a chair next tot he window across the room. Four of them had shown up, finding it unnecessary to take the entire team. They closed the door and waited for an order. 

Tsunade stood, weaving her fingers together to keep her hands behind her back, "This girl here has been mentally scarred by the betrayal of her village. As you can see, they tortured her very well. Each time she wakes up, she'll recall her tragedy and go insane." Eyeing each of the four Black Ops, she continued, "You have the ability to place others into a hypnosis and trigger their memories. Can you erase them, too?"

Looking to each other, the masked ninjas nodded slightly; then, one spoke, "It's been accomplished a small number of times, but most have proven to only be temporary. If anything, all we're doing is putting memory brain cells to sleep for a length of time."

She nodded, understanding the consequences. "I'd rather it be at least temporary, though." 

"Understood. We'll perform the erase in here, if you don't mind."

Again, she nodded, then returned to her seat at the window to observe.

Surrounding Kumo and her bed, the four ANBU found it lucky to have their patient already asleep - that's all they needed. The Mindwipe technique was painful for both wiper and wipee, but by being asleep, the wipee would at least be out of conscious pain. Three of the shinobi emitted their chakra over Kumo's body, trying to keep her body calm and still while the fourth grasped her forehead and emitted his chakra into the Spider Ninja's brain. He searched around, finding memories of her abilities and training, her jutsus and battles, and her sudden struggle with the villagers. Kumo's screams pierced the ANBU's mind, every attack from the tattoo needle, every time the sewing needle cut through her lips, and the thread scraping along the inside of her open wounds. Then, Kumo's emotional pain began to kick in - her hatred to the villagers for betraying her; the despair and confusion.

The shinobi quickly erased what he could, using his chakra to put the brain cells as deeply into sleep as he could while Kumo began to stir. Something crawled up his leg, then another. The other three shinobi could feel crawling on their bodies, when they looked down, spiders thinly covered the floor and made their way onto what seemed to be the enemies of Kumo. The many spiders began to bite, injecting their powerful toxins. Each of the four ANBU ceased their process of Mindwipe, screaming in fear and pain, and began to dance around, desperately trying to get the spiders off, as they brushed their hands over their bodies and legs. Tsunade had already ran out of the room for antidotes when she noticed the spiders begin to sink their fangs into the Black Ops. 

The chaos went on for about an hour, consisting of the four shinobi going through muscle spasms, limb swelling, and immense pain until they had enough antivenom pumped into their bodies to cure them. Tsunade returned to Kumo's room, carefully stepping in to make sure the spiders had gone - they were. _So they protect her. That must be her defense in battle as well. Once she's out of here, we'll find out just what she can do... _

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**Chapter 3 coming out when I'm done writing it and my beta reader checks it! lol� I'll make sure to make the next chapter a bit longer, too. Thanks, again, guys! You have no idea how much I love to get feedback. Keeps me going.**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Yes, I do take a while to write such rediculously short chapters, and I'm sorry for that. This chapter is rather boring, but it gets things moving. Next chapter will be quite interesting (and hopefully longer!). Guess you never guess who Kumo's Sensei will be. Cookies to whoever guess it right! :P_**

X.Creature.X.EnchainedX : Thank you for the review. You're the only person who actually responded to Chapter 2! I'm glad you enjoy it.

**Chapter 3**

To make sure the Spider kunoichi was mentally and physically safe to be released from the hospital, Tsunade kept Kumo in for another week, only allowing her to go out on the rooftop to do mild training. The Fifth Hokage also noticed how Kumo was extremely exhausted during the day, and energetic at night; they were able to get Kumo to sleep at night, but she still seemed rather tired. Late in the silence of the moon's glow, Kumo would go on the hospital's rooftop and practice her Taijutsu and Ninjutsu - the doctors finally gave in to her sleeping habits, unable to shift her internal clock.

Naruto yawned as he trudged through the village, heading back to his apartment; he had just returned from a mission. Looking up at the crescent moon above the hospital, he noticed a dark figure leap into the air, kick, twist and kick again, then land back down. "Huh? Bushy brows is back in the hospital?" Naruto then noticed the long, thick ponytail of hair as the figure tried the same attack again, "Wait, he has short hair. who _is _that?" The knuckle-headed Ninja quickly lost interest after he yawned another time, barely able to speak the words, "I'll just ask Kakashi-sensei or Granny Tsunade tomorrow." With that said, he trudged to his apartment and wearily crawled into bed.

When it was finally time to release the Spider Ninja, Tsunade assigned a Medical Ninja to watch over Kumo. "Toshizakari Kaishaku, I want you to stay by Fuku Kumo's side for a while. She's well enough to be released, but still mentally ill enough in which she must not be alone. Will that be fine with you?"

In front of the Hokage's desk, a female Medical Ninja stood. She had light brown, shoulder-length hair and green eyes; her entire outfit said "Medical Ninja" all over, what with the surgical scissors placed in her hair to also be used as a hair pin, gauze wraps used as an undershirt and right arm sleeve, surgical needles were pinned on her white kimono-styled top, which was lined in red, in random places, and surgical thread was wrapped around her left forearm; her clothes were a little more simple with her baggy blue pants, her short white and red kimono dress only reaching to her knees on one side, a large red ribbon wrapped around her waist and tied into a bow, her Leaf Village headband wrapped around her right knee, and near the bottom of her kimono skirt piece, she had a symbol - a red cross within a red circle. She was a Medical Ninja, all right, but she was rumored to be very hazardous to patients. "Not a problem, Lady Tsunade," she smirked. "I'll do my best," then grinned and bowed, soon turning around on one heel and walked out of the office while humming a faint, cheerful tune.

"Are you sure you want her watching over Kumo?" Shizune asked; both she and Tsunade knew that Kaishaku was very clumsy in the medical field.

Tsunade smiled, "The doctors were begging me to give her a long-term assignment. Besides, it's not like Kaishaku will have to perform surgery or anything."

Shizune nodded in acceptance, "Any more background information on Kumo?"

The Hokage's eyes stared hard at the door across the room, "They won't breathe a word. I know the Bloom Village is hiding something."

"As a suggestion, ma'am - should we send a spy?"

"Now that Kumo is believed to be dead, they have no reason to talk about her among themselves; more than likely, there were no documents kept, either."

"I see."

_Knock, knock, knock_. Kumo's door opened to a cheerful woman, "Good morning, Kumo-san! My name is Kaishaku Toshizakari." The only response she received was a bit of a glare as Kumo sat in the chair in front of the large window, her knees hugged up to her chest. "Ready to move into your new home? The Hokage got you an apartment and some money to start you off in Kanoha. I'll be watching over you, though." Kaishaku walked over to the Spider Ninja and took her hands in her own, "Come on, it won't be bad. We'll have lots of fun! At least you won't be alone."

Grey eyes slowly rose up and stared into the Medical Ninja's green eyes.

"There we go," Kaishaku smiled. She pulled Kumo toward her, trying to get the girl to stand, succeeding without a struggle. "I also have a surprise for you on the way to your apartment." She noticed Kumo walk toward the door and asked her if she had any belongings in the hospital, only to receive a rejecting shake of the head as an answer.

As the two walked down the streets of the Leaf Village, Kaishaku chattered on about herself, hoping that Kumo would begin talking to her if she felt less like a stranger. They soon walked into the Village's Costume Shop and met with the seamstress.

"Ah, you're here," the old lady recognized Kumo and Kaishaku right away; she had been expecting her to bring the kunoichi to pick up her gloves. "Welcome to Kanoha," she lightly bowed to the ocean-blue haired girl. "I have a surprise for you - requested to be made by the Hokage, herself." The elderly woman walked behind her counter and pulled out a folded lump of black and blue fabric. She then walked back around and handed it to Kumo.

The girl stared at the fabric for a long moment until Kaishaku urged her to inspect the gift. She plucked up the fabric, causing the first piece to slip out of her hand and reveal that it was a glove of sorts. The other glove still laid folded in her hand as she studied the first one, which was mostly black. It looked to be able to reach halfway up her forearm, the fingers on it stopped by the middle of their lengths; at the wrist, the glove was open all around, held together by light blue vertical strips of fabric - five, to be exact; the forearm piece of the glove was open all down the outer side of her arm, held together horizontally by three long strips of the same fabric as on the wrists.

Kumo slipped them on - a perfect fit. The seamstress had gone to the hospital and taken measurements of Kumo's arms and hands while she was still asleep after being given the anesthetic. Satisfied with the gift, Kumo bowed graciously and thanked the grey-haired woman. Kaishaku also thanked her, and the two were back outside, heading to their original destination - Kumo's apartment.

"And here we are," Kaishaku unlocked one of the many doors within the hallway and entered into the apartment livingroom. "The Fifth got you the absolute necessities to get you started; a bed, a refrigerator, and a couple of extra outfits." She watched Kumo walk to the middle of the small livingroom and smiled, "You'll be able to get more money by completing missions."

After scanning around and peeking into the small kitchen, bathroom, and closet, Kumo returned to Kaishaku, staring at her.

"What's wrong, sweety?" Kaishaku arched a brow.

"Where will you sleep?"

This warmed the woman's heart; such a caring question told her that Kumo had already accepted her as, she hoped, a friend. "I have a futon at my place that I can go get."

They sat down on Kumo's bed and looked out the window as they conversed. "I'd stay at my place each night, but I was ordered to watch you at all times."

"Why's that?" Kumo yawned and rubbed an eye. A paused disturbed the girl. She wasnt sure if Kaishaku didnt understand her when she yawned, or there was a reason she wasn't suppose to know about.

"I'm not allowed to tell you how you came to Kanoha, but I will tell you that you suffered some tragic emotional damages. Lady Hokage wants me to make sure that you aren't still unstable. After a month, you're allowed to be on your own."

Kumo sighed, not sure how to take in what she had just hear. "Unstable..."

"It's not a big deal," Kaishaku patted the girl's shoulder, "this is probably not even necessary, but it's always a good idea to keep precautions."

"So, after one month of not being unstable, they'll trust me?"

"Yup." Kaishaku looked back out the window, smiling, "This'll be an interesting month. Oh!" She stood and looked down to the surprised Kumo, "You're also meeting your Sensei today. He should be waiting in the training arena, let's go!" the cheerful woman took the confused girl's hand and pulled her along as they left the apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

**_So, here's chapter 4. Things are getting interesting now. :3 _

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Chapter 4

A man laughed - proudly. A boy cheered next to him - amazed. Both wore the same outfit, though the man wore a cargo vest and his possible, or what it seemed to be, son only wore a village headband around his waist as a little more decorations to his one-piece green body suit.

"Gai-Sensei, you never cease to amaze me," proclaimed the boy.

Taking a pose, the men called Gai answered, "I live to please, my dear Lee."

Once Kumo laid eyes on the man, she remembered something. It was small, subliminal flash, but she had seen him somewhere.

"Ah, Kumo, so you've finally recovered from," Gai was interupted by Kaishaku clearing her throat in warning. He nodded in assurance to the woman and continued, "From the accident you had on your last mission! It looks like I've been assigned to you as your new Sensei, which means Lee here while have plenty of new training as well!" Gai patted the boy's shoulder and grinned.

Lee stared at Kumo with concern. Something bothered him about the way she looked. "Kumo-san," he finally spoke up, "are you, by any chance," then paused, "related to Gaara of the Sand?"

"Who?" Kumo arched a brow.

Gai quickly grabbed his long-loved student by the arm and drug him a good distance away in an effort to talk in private, "Excuse us for a second, ladies."

Kaishaku and Kumo only looked at each other, Kaishaku wasn't sure how to explain this one to the girl. In the distance, Gai and Lee hid behind a fairly large bush so that Kumo would be unable to read their lips.

"Lee, the girl isn't related to Gaara."

"But what about the black around her eyes?" Lee pointed to his own and began to make circles around them in an immitation.

Gai shook his head and sighed, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I trust you, Lee, to never tell Kumo or anyone else." It was just some of the truth. Parts of the story wouldn't hurt to tell, right? Surely not. With a deep inhale, he explained, "Kumo is from another village who was cruel and unforgiving to her. Her eyes were tattooed. Any other scars, I probably shouldn't tell you about. Just don't think she's a bad person."

The boy nodded, "May I ask what she did to receive such a punishment?"

"She didn't do anything. The village mistook her for a killer."

"And they didn't even question her?"

"No; but that's all I can tell you. It's not your mission to worry about."

Lee saluted his Sensei with sympathy in his eyes, "I understand, Gai-Sensei!"

"You didn't hear a word of this."

"Yes, Gai-Sensei!"

"Good," the man stood and lashed a pointing arm out toward Kumo and Kaishaku, "Now go out there and be the best team mate you can be!"

Lee came bursting from the bush, "Yes, Gai-Sensei!" He raced to Kumo and reached her in mere seconds, aiming to attack her with a whirling kick. To his surprise, he was stopped in mid-air, held up by Kumo's blocking arm. He grinned devilishly and proclaimed, "Let us begin our training. I cannot wait to see your abilities."

"You won't have to see them. You won't have time to," Kumo answered, her grey eyes glaring upward.

Confused, Lee began to search for any hidden attacks or secretive movements. He then realized a crawling sensation on the back of his neck, making it's way onto his face. "I should have known." Lee backflipped off of Kumo's arm and landed a few feet away. He quickly smacked the large brown spider off of his face. "You'll have to do better than that."

"It didn't bite you because I didn't want it to." Kumo crouched and allowed the spider to crawl onto her lowered hand. "This is a Brown Reclus. A single bite from it could put you into agonizing pain and kill you within mere hours, depending on how much you move."

Gai soon walked up next to Kaishaku, "That's enough, you two. Training doesn't began just yet. We should get to know each other first. And, Kumo, what if your spiders bite without command?"

The girl patted one of the two pouches on her legs, "I also make antidotes, garanteed to work in less than a minute." A tiny smirk curled on her lips.

_So she has medical experience,_ Kaishaku thought to herself. _This is new._

"Good to hear. Now, how about we have some lunch? Lee and I have been training all morning."

"Kumo and I haven't had breakfast, so it works out," Kaishaku rubbed the back of her head as her stomach growled.

Kumo allowed her spider to crawl up her arm and down her body to escape back to its natural life.

The four decided on a simple ramen shop, not really full on money at the time. As the waited for their ramen to be served to them, they slurped away at their drinks and conversed.

"Gai," Kaishaku broke the short pause between everyone, "how has Kakashi-Sensei been? I haven't seen him in a long time."

The man grinned, knowing Kaishaku was strongly fond of Kakashi. "He's doing fine. His nose is still stuck in that book series, as always." A sly expression found its way onto Gai's face as he slowly leaned closer to the Medic Ninja. "Maybe you should try taling to him every once in a while; make those fantasy books his reality." He was answered by a resounding slap across the face, sending him flying out of the shop and crash into the street.

"I wouldn't even think about it!" Kaishaku roared from the shop curtains.

"It was just a joke, Kaishaku! You know I'm not like that!" Gai came crawling back on his knees, "Don't be so rejecting." He carefully sat back on his stool, finding the kids and woman eating their ramen.

Kaishaku swallowed and sighed, "You're the same as always, Gai; silly as ever." She overheard Lee planning out how he and Kumo would train after lunch, Kumo not answering, save for a nod everyone once in a while.

A chuckle escaped Gai just before he slurped a bite of his ramen. "It's like I told Lee earlier today: I live to please." He received a small shove and giggle from the woman.

"Aw, man," came a young boy's voice from behind the curtains; it was almost whorse and annoying. "The shop's full today. who's in there, are you almost done? I'm starvin'!"

Gai pushed one of the curtains aside to look behind him, "I should have known you would be here, Naruto."

"Naruto-kun!" Lee pushed back his curtain on the opposite side of the shop from Gai. "Look who joined my team! Her name is Kumo." He then pulled away the girl's curtain, a mouthful of ramen and a confused look on her face. She quickly gulped it down and turned to face the blonde boy.

"Wait a minute. that braid, that shirt." With a gasp, Naruto pointed at Kumo in aw, "You're the girl I saw on the hospital roof that night!"

Kumo choked on the last bit of ramen in her mouth, afraid that she was in trouble. She looked at Kaishaku, who had by now held back her curtain to see about the ruckess emitting from the newcomer. Kaishaku smiled and shook her head, "No harm done."

"Here," Gai grabbed his bowl of ramen and stood up, moving out to allow someone else ont he stool, "Go ahead and take my seat, Naruto. Seeing as how Jiraya is still away, would you like to join Lee and Kumo in training after lunch?"

"Sure! That'll help me get stronger, and I'll be closer to being able to go find Sasuke." Naruto took his seat, "One large, please! Heheh!"

"Coming right up, Naruto," answered Teuchi. He turned and began making the usual.

Gai, Kaishaku, Lee, and Kumo soon finished and patiently waited for Naruto to eat his fill. On the way back to the training arena, Naruto asked Kumo about what village she had come from and why, what her techniques were and what her favorite food was, Kaishaku answering the questions about the girl's origin; throughout all of those questions, Naruto never asked about Kumo's eyes or the scars around her lips.

"What about you?" Kumo finally returned questions back to Naruto. "What's your background?"

A grin curled ont he blonde's lips. "I plan to be Hokage one day. No matter what it takes!"

"That's quite a goal. Now what's your _background?"_

They entered the arena and made their way back to the original spot. "I'll tell you later," Naruto assured the Spider Kunoichi.

Lee stepped up and flexed into his usual fighting pose, "I shall be the first to spar with Kumo-san."

Kumo didn't bother to fall into a pose of her own.

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**_Yay, there's chapter 4. Next, in chapter 5, you'll read about the big three-way battle between Lee, Kumo, and Naruto. Who will win? You'll be more surprised than you think. Also, what of Kumo's inncence in the Bloom Village? Will she be proven, or will she remain unsure of her own past?_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**So, here's chapter five! Sorry if Naruto seems a little out of character. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and once I finished it, the rest of the story just kept coming, so I couldn't change it. XD Ah, oh well, I'll make sure ot watch my scenes a little harder. lol Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters owned by Kishimoto. I do, however, own Kumo and the plot. Kaishaku is owned by my friend, Fugu Kumi.**

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****Chapter 5**

Rock Lee and Kumo Fuku stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move; Naruto stepped out of the way, seeing the flames of determination in the young Taijutsu Ninja's eyes; Gai and Kaishaku watched from a safe distance. Lee inhaled and exhaled slowly, reforming into a new stance, never noticing the tiny grey spiders stealthily crawling up and about Kumo's body, taking position, then crawling back down and away. Kmo reached into her second pouch and hooked a few kunai onto her fingers.

"Trust," announced the Spider Kunoichi, immediately feeling a tug from every square inch of her body, then threw the kunai to Lee.

The weapons weren't difficult to dodge as the bushy-browed boy leapt up and forward, over the daggers, and in front of Kumo. Both Ninja began throwing Taijutsu attacks at each other, mostly blocking and attempting to successfully lay a kick or punch or both on the other. After a few more moments of said attacks, they leapt apart; Kumo decided it was time to take solace within a thicket of trees.

"Will she use Genjutsu?" Lee though aloud as he looked at the wall of trees that his opponent had disappeared into, waiting for some sort of movement.

Within the thick leaves, Kumo peered from behind the trunk of her perch, about midway up the tree. Her right shoulder, the closest area of her body to Lee, began to give off the tugging feeling. "There he is," she murmured, following the extremely thin lines coming from her shoulder and heading down toward the glaring boy. "Glad to finally use this against a real opponent." A soft, musical not vibrated within the ocean-blue haired girl's throat. She waited a few seconds, then began to sing, "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout."

Lee looked all around him, confused of where Kumo's voice was coming from as it echoed from every direction.

"Down came the rain and washed the spider out."  
He didn't even feel the one small, but no tiny, red spider crawl up his body.

"Out came the sun and dried up all the rain."

Strangely, Kumo's voice wasn't as joyful and welcoming as the teachers were back in younger years.

"And the itsy bitsy spider crawled up the spout again..."

The red spider sank its oddly large fangs into Lee's shoulder on cue. An agonizing scream escaped the boy's lips before he even realized he had done it - the poinson was already taking effect, causing his muscles to burn as if he were lit up likea torch from the inside.

Kumo was already at his side, along with Gai, Kaishaku, and Naruto. All Lee could remember was Kumo laying him flat on his back, lifting his head up, and forcing him to drink one of her antidotes from the tiny tube-like container it was held in. Once Lee gulped it down, he passed out from the sheer pain.

When he awoke, Lee found himself under a tree, staring at the swaying leaves above him. Then, he heard the clanging of two kunai clashing against each other. The pain was gone and his strength was restored - completely! Bushy-brows sat up and looked inside, finding Kaishaku and Gai-sensei in front of him. A calm breeze russled his hair a bit, completely opposite of what was going on beyond the two-man wall. Sandled feet touched down the earth, paused, shifted slightly, then took off again, all from afar. He stood and joined the Medical Ninja and his sensei within the makeshift audience line.

"You're not gonna trick me like you did to Lee," declared Naruto. He wasn't expecting an answer, but he did - a "hmph" and a kick in the stomach, which sent him flying backward and sliding to a stop against a tree. Naruto quickly recovered and got onto his feet.

Kumo crossed her arms as she landed just a few feet in front of the blonde. "Not all of my spider attacks are tricks - in fact, they're mostly just carefully planned."

"Wha-" escaped Naruto's lips, only stopping to focus on the soft tingling under his jacket, on his back. He immediately realized that Kumo only commanded the spiders to climb onto her opponents once they get close enough to the waiting spider. Taking off his jacket was his next instinct; he had to get to that spider before it bit him. His breath quickened as he recalled how Lee had writhed and squirmed at the pain his spider had caused him. Screw the zipper, it was stuck anyway. In desperation, Naruto began tearing at his collar, his eyes starting to become bloodshot, his fingernails growing and sharpening to aid his need.

This was odd. The sight cause Kumo to step back, unsure if she was still fighting the hyper-active ninja she had expected to be fighting. To be sure, the Kunoichi took a glance to Gai, only to be answered by his shouts for her to get away.

It was too late, however. The sound of shredding fabric caught Kumo's attention, along with a tackle from a half-formed Kyuubi Naruto. Her grey eyes widened, unsure of what just happened. Naruto was on top of her, growling ferociously, and baring his lengthened canine teeth. She didn't hear the thuds of three pairs of footsteps running to her aid; she didn't hear the shouts of Gai telling Lee to grab Kumo while he and Kaishaku would hold Naruto; she did, however, hear his claws puncture into the skin on her chest, the flesh popping and giving up its defenses; and she did hear her skull crack when his fist slammed into it at full Kyuubi force.

What seemed like seconds was a full two days of darkness until Kumo finally awoke in a familiar room setting - the hospital. Soon, her senses came together and told her that there was a presence very nearby. She turned her head to find Naruto, head down, blocking the mid-day light, right at her bedside. That was when she recalled how she got back into this place. Her chest stung near her collar bone, and her head ached so terribly each time she even though about moving it - Hell, it hurt just to think!

"I'm sorry," Naruto uttered under the shadow of his face. "I'm sorry I lost control on you, I just... Lee... the spider. I didn't want to feel that, too."

"No," Kumo stared at the blonde's hanging face blanketed by the shadows like a veil over a widow's face. "It was a natural instinct to survive." She sat up to gain eye contact, but the throbbing pain in her head triggered something... sickening. The girl's stomach heaved before she could get to the trashcan on the opposite side of the bed, only to splatter an orange-yellow ooze onto the floor right next to Naruto - at least she missed him.

Shaking his head, Naruto stood and gently pushed Kumo back onto the bed, "You need to drink something - you're dehydrated."

"How?" Kumo mumbled.

The blonde poured a small glass of water from the pitcher at the bedside, "You've been asleep for two days. After I had collapsed from being Kyuubi, I found myself in the hospital, too, yesterday." He placed a bendy straw in the glass and held it at Kumo's lips, "Lee said he'd be visiting today. I only wanted to say how sorry I am for doing this to you."

Kumo took a long sip, savouring the delicious taste of water, which wasn't usually this good. Once satisfied, emptying the cup, she sighed and replied to Naruto, "I went overboard with my spiders - especially for a training session. Don't bother with apologies." Her stomach churned and she found herself over the correct side of the bed and gagging a clear fluid into the small trashcan.

"Maybe you shouldn't drink so much at one time," said Naruto, his face finally visible. He watched Kumo slowly lay back down and sigh.

Naruto made his way out of the room, explaining that he was going to find a nurse to take care of the nausea. He soon met up with Lee in the hallway, who was carrying a lily of sorts with eight long petals and a few pollen stems reaching out from the middle. "Don't let her move too much - she'll throw up."

Lee smiled and nodded, "It must be her concussion. Are you going to the nurse desk?"

"Yeah, she needs something to settle the pain." A hand landed on Naruto's shoulder.

"Do not let it bother you, Naruto-kun. Accidents happen." Lee received a nod and continued on to visit Kumo.

He peeked in and noticed the ultimate silence around the room. It seemed safe to go in without disturbing the Spider Kunoichi. She was found staring up at the ceiling, her eyelids drooping and raising - she was trying to stay awake. Walking over to the foot of the bed, Lee helped the girl wake up with a startle, "I brought you a flower, Kumo-san. It's a spider lily." He placed it in the vase at the window, water already in it.

Kumo didn't have trouble keeping her eyes open anymore. She flashed a smile that the boy probably didn't even see, "I didn't know such flowers existed."

"They-" Lee was about to explain how the flower shop in Konoha had many foreign flowers imported as well as florals from here, but Gai burst into the room, tears streaming down his face in either happiness or misery - Kumo and Lee couldn't tell. "I must see my new student! I've only known her for three days and two of them, she was unconscious!"

"Please, Gai," begged the nurse behind him, "she has a tremedous headache, and your loud wailing isn't going to help her!"

The two stopped at the foot of the bed while Kumo winced at the throbbing pain within her skull. The nurse took out a seringe and rubbed Kumo's upper arm for a few moments, trying to make the shot as numb as possible, "This will ease the pain, sweetie. You're throwing up because of the concussion, so try not to move your head too much." She injected the clear liquid medicine and patted the area once more. "I'll go get you an I.V. to get you hydrated. Don't let these boys keep you awake too long." The nurse left soon after reminding Gai to keep quiet.

"Where's Kaishaku?" Kumo immediately asked after the door shut.

Gai smiled and answered, "She went to get a few groceries for you." His smile turned into a grin, "And to visit a special someone."

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**_R&R please! The plot should be moving forward within the next chapter or two! I'm trying to make them longer. lol_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_FINALLY wrote and typed up Chapter 6. XD Sorry it took so long. I'm too distracted at home to write very after at all, and work has been getting busy for once... But I'll contine trying to write. lol I have this beautiful twist that I plan to use to end this fic, which should happen within the next two or three chapters - depends on how well certain fight scenes go and stuff. NO there's no Spider Demon in Kumo (I thought about that, but it'd make her a Mary-sue in a split-second. lol). Mary-sues are boring, anyway..._**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto - Kishimoto does. I do, however, own Kumo and the plot. Kaishaku belongs to one of my friends.

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**Chapter 6**

_Gai said that he would be at the memorial grounds,_ Kaishaku thought to herself, walking down the small path that lead to the many gravestones. A mumbling became audible ahead. She soon broke out of the path and found a white-haired man crouching in front of a headstone. _There he is,_ she stopped and watched as Kakashi finished talking to the gravestone. He stared for a lingering moment, then turned to face Kaishaku.

The two stared at each other for a minute, Kaishaku too shy of Kakashi to say anything, Kakashi unsure if he was suppose to say anything at all; he did, though.

"You look familiar; have we met?" Kakashi arched a brow.

"Just from passing by," Kaishaku replied, "but I wanted to actually meet you."

"Well, you've met me, so now I must be off," Kakashi began to wave as he turned to leave, only to be stopped by the woman's call to him.

"Wait! Kakashi, I," Kaishaku paused, unsure if he would accept her or think she was just another crazed fan girl, "I was also hoping that maybe you could take me as a side pupil. I've always admired you, but I never could get the courage until now. I'm clumsy when it comes to fighting, and being a medical ninja is even a danger to everyone. Please," she clasped her hands together and bowed, "Please teach me so that I can be graceful at something."

With a sigh, Kakashi turned back to the woman, "Have you passed your Chunin exams?"

"Barely."

"There's a girl in my group who might be interested in meeting you."

Kaishaku straightened herself out and smiled.

"Her name is Sakura," Kakashi continued, "she's not clumsy, and she's going under Lady Tsunade's care soon. I'll have the two of you meet."

"Thank you, Kakashi Sensei!" The woman's eyes lightened up with excitement. She couldn't wait to begin training under Kakashi.

The man waved and disappeared in a puff of smoke, afraid that he might be charged at with some kind of fan girl hug; that's what most of the random young, and sometimes older, women would do when they go the chance to talk to him. By this point, Kaishaku was plenty happy with her results and decided to go thank Gai again for telling her where Kakashi would be. But first, she had to get those groceries.

Lee, Naruto, and Gai watched Kumo in near disgust and even closer horror as the tiny pale spiders crawled around the girl's bed. They were entering her body through her nose and ears, getting tot he wound in her head as easily and safely as possible. The spiders that exited Kumo were carrying small dead blood cells that would otherwise clot up Kumo's brain and most likely kill her.

"You don't feel them crawling inside your head," Naruto asked the girl.

Kumo looked around, trying to understand what Naruto was asking, "Well, yes; it tickles a little, but I know that they're doing this to keep me alive, so it doesn't bother me. I could get them to heal you if you ever need it."

"N-no, that's fine. My Fox chakra does that just fine," Naruto shivered at the thought of those spiders wriggling around in his body.

"Fox chakra?" Kumo asked.

"Um...uh," Lee quickly thought of a distraction, "Kumo-kun, how about we run a few laps around Konoha after you get better?" It was probably best that she didn't learn about the Fox demon inside Naruto just yet; though, if she remembered Naruto's face when he drastically attacked her while training, they might just have to tell her.

"Now, Lee," Gai inputed, "Kumo won't be able to run more than one lap, in the least; not until she's fully recovered. She doesn't have the strength that you have."

By this time, Kumo had fallen asleep; her body was exhausted from the constant healing, and she needed more rest. Kaishaku walked in with a small basket of fruit for Kumo and suggested it be best to leave her for a while so not to disturb her. She and the other three decided to grab lunch during that time. They settled on ramen, since Naruto didn't really eat much else, and sat at the well-known shop.

"So, Kaishaku," Gai sneered, "how did it go with you and Kakashi?"

Kaishaku giggled and answered, "He's letting me meet one of his students. Maybe we'll be working together under his instruction. I think her name is Sakura."

"Sakuwa?" Naruto burbled out with his mouthful of ramen, then gulped it down to continue. "I thought granny Tsunade was training her."

The woman shrugged, eating her ramen, the answered, "Maybe it's just for some tips on not being so clumsy during missions. Either way, I'm just glad he accepted me."

"That's good, Kaishaku; Kakashi needs a little more woman I his life than those darn books," Gai chuckled, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Kaishaku's hand, and choking on his mouthful of ramen that he managed to shove in his mouth right after his comment – obviously a bad idea.

Lee and Naruto laughed, Kaishaku grinned, Gai laughed – they were happy in their new little group. The only people missing were Kakashi, Sakura, and Kumo. In face, two of them were walking toward the group right now.

"Kaishaku," called Kakashi.

The woman turned around, pushing the sheet of curtain out of her way, "Hmm?"

"Kaishaku, meet Sakura," the Copy Ninja spoke quickly. "she trains under Tsunade and should be able to give you a few pointers, so have fun. Gai," he grabbed his "rival's" arm and pulled him out of his seat, "we need to see Tsunade, come on." As quickly as Sakura and Kakashi appeared, he and Gai disappeared in to wisps of smoke.

The two girls stared for a moment, wondering what was go urgent. Kaishaku smiled at Sakura, looking forward to their training together. "You're very pretty, Sakura. It's nice to meet you."

Sakura could only blush out of sheet embarrassment since not many people said that to her. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too."

Gai and Kakashi walked into Tsunade's office, the woman keeping a scolding expression on her face as she watched them come in. She lifted a sheet of paper and held it up to the men so they could see what was so important. It was a report from one of the spies she had recently sent to the Bloom Village to watch the Feudal Lord's advisor known as Kusuke, and her suspicions were dead on.

"Kumo was set up by Kusuke," Tsunade told the two.

Gai snatched the paper from the Hokage and looked over it in disbelief. Kakashi recalled what the Feudal Lord, Yuki, had mention about Kusuke's tragedy with his son, "So he took out his revenge for his son, then. Kusuke wanted Kumo dead for the accident."

Nodding, Tsunade answered, "And the only way to do that was to get the rest of the village against her."

"So he let the Bloom Village do his own dirty work while getting rid of other people he didn't get along with," Gai inputed. "It says here that all of the spider-bite victims had a history of being on bad terms with Kusuke."

"Correct," Tsunade nodded again. "How we take care of this situation is the tricky part; we now know the truth about Kumo, but should we tell her? Should we tell Yuki?"

It was a long discussion from then on. If Kumo were to know about being exiled and almost sacrificed from her village, she would surely be furious, depressed, and possibly go insane from being reminded all that had happened. Tsunade, Gai, and Kakashi settled on keeping the girl's history out of her knowledge until further notice. As for the Feudal Lord, they questioned his safety with the advisor. If Kusuke had a reason to dislike Yuki, would he find a way to have him exiled or even killed? Quite possibly, yes; which meant that either Tsunade could send a letter to Lord Yuki, or send Kakashi and Gai in case there was trouble. She settled for sending both; Kakashi and Gai would personally deliver the letter and watch Lord Yuki read it. If Kusuke attempts anything before the Feudal Lord takes action, they would stop him – a win-win situation. At that, the told them to return the next morning to make the trip.

By the afternoon, Kumo was almost fully recovered. The nurses kept watch over the spiders' activity in the girl's body, and later noticed only one or two fo the spiders entering and exiting through one of her ears; Kumo was well awake and her vital signs were stable. She was discharged from the hospital before dusk.

"Kumo," Kaishaku walked the girl home to their shared apartment, "do you know why the spiders protect you? I know you can command them during battle, but when you're injured, it doesn't seem like you're doing any commanding"

The young kunoichi shook her head, not fully sure why the spiders always aided her without her instruction. "The best I can figure is that they enjoy my chakra, but they don't stay around like the insects that the Aburame clan has them do." She was told about Shino's clan while in the hospital with Naruto, Lee, and Gai when they mentioned how she had similar abilities as him.

"If that's the case, then they must be attracted to the signals that your body gives off when its in distress," Kaishaku suggested.

"Possibly," Kumo nodded. "It sounds very plausible."

"Also," the Medical Kunoichi reached into one of her hidden pockets and pulled out a set of blue and black headphones, "Gai and I were discussing your movements over the past couple of days and decided that music would improve how you fight in close combat." She handed the spider girl the headphones and smiled, "There's a variety of instrumental music so you can change how you fight.

"Gai won't be around tomorrow, but you're feeling up to it, Lee and Naruto are willing to spar a little with you to try this technique out." They had reached the apartment by now and Kaishaku dug in her pockets for the key.

Kumo placed the headphones around her neck and held one speaker up to her ear as she scanned through its programmed music. There was mostly piano, violins, flutes – the flutes were soothing to her, and the samisen, which she enjoyed the most; it gave her an odd feeling of grace and energy all at the same time. As Kaishaku inserted the key into the lock, Kumo threw her arms around the woman, and squeezed tightly, "Thank you."

Knowing that she had done well to make the girl happy, Kumo smiled softly and opened the door, "Gai-sensei helped pay for it. Don't forget to thank him when he gets back from his mission."

"I won't," Kumo walked in and stood in front of the window, watching the orange sky as stars began to fade into sight. "I don't know if I was rejected from my village for something I did, but when I think about I, I get a sinking feelings; I do, however know that I enjoy the Leaf Village and its people – it feels like home."

This worried Kaishaku; if Kumo was already feelings that she was responsible for being exiled, her memory might be returning. Would Kumo go mad if she were to remember how she got those scars, how she ended up in the hospital, why she isn't with her family? Kaishaku decided that if the girl remembered anything else, she would consult to Tsunade.

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**_I haven't been getting any reviews lately... In fact, I think I only have one loyal fan out there (thank you so much for reviewing each chapter, _**.**!!) So... uh... I dunno, if you feel like leaving a review, I'd really appreciate it... ((coughs))**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Yay for finishing this chapter. XD Looks like chapter 8 will be the last one, so yay some more!_

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Chapter 7

That night, Kumo dreamed. It was fast and confusing, she could hardly tell what was going on. She was taken from her bed in a different room and gagged so she couldn't scream. The air smelled of dirt, vegetation, and sweat as she was dragged into a forest and tossed onto her back. Kumo's wrists stung agonizingly as she struggled to get up, but she was held down by scowling shadows and soon thrown into unconsciousness as her eyes began to ache and feel as if they would rupture at any moment.

At that point, Kumo had awoke in a soaked bed; she had sweat in her bed in result of the dream. Gasping to catch her breath and gather her thoughts, the Kunoichi looked at the still sleeping Kaishaku and then out the window at the night sky. Why did she have that nightmare? What did it mean to her? Kumo wasn't sure, but she knew there had to be some sort of connection.

Dreams always have something to do with previous experiences; whether the only connection is a simple apple that you had seen at some point in time during your life, or an entire event. When one dreams, they don't predict the future; instead, one's brain is trying to place what the person had seen, felt, smelled, or even tasted during their life into some sort of order to make sense of those experiences. When a person unconsciously experiences something, they aren't giving the brain enough time to make sense of it; hence, when one finally allows the brain to think on its one, it uses that time to organize those unconscious moments.

There wasn't much need for sleep for the rest of the night; Kumo's nocturnal habits tried their best to keep the Kunoichi from sleeping at night and being active during the day. She waited for Kaishaku, listening to the sweet, soothing melodies of the flute on her headphones as she watched the stars through the window, acknowledging each of the tiny lights as they faded away into the morning sky.

"Kumo?" a familiar voice called from behind the girl. "Up before the sun again, I see."

Taking her headphones off to rest them around her neck, Kumo turned around on her bed to face Kaishaku as the woman searched through her dresser for fresh clothes. "Kaishaku-kun," she paused, afraid to ask, but she wanted to know, "what happened to me before I was in the hospital?"

This question caused Kaishaku to freeze in her search. What could she say without seeming like she's hiding something? She couldn't tell the truth – it was against her authority. The only thing she could think of to say was a question as a reply, "Why do you ask?" She returned to pulling out her day clothes.

"I had a nightmare; it was too strange for it to be something normal. And even if dreams aren't real, I know something must have triggered it."

"What," Kaishaku hesitated, afraid of the answer she may get, "what was it about?"

With a sigh, Kumo explained her dream; the pain and terror she felt, the things she saw, every important detail she could remember – not like she could forget such a thing, though. When she finished, her caretaker's face looked distant and worried. "You know what happened, don't you?" She could read it all over the woman's face, but couldn't make out the words. What could she tell her? How much did she know?

"No. I don't know anything that happened. You should go meet Naruto and Lee in the training grounds. I'm sure they'll be there soon."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't know anything."

"Yes you do! As a caretaker, you would have to watch for signs of any memories if I have lost them!"

"I don't know anything, Kumo!" This was getting frustrating. She couldn't tell her girl, but she couldn't think of a good lie. Kaishaku huffed and marched into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and started getting dressed.

Kumo growled and ran out of the apartment, also slamming the door. She had decided to get dressed while she was waiting for Kaishaku to wake up, so the possibility of her running around in her pajamas wasn't there. With anger running through her blood, Kumo could only think of talking to the Hokage; surely she would tell her something. As the Spider Ninja recalled what Kaishaku had explained to her about how to get to Tsunade's office if she ever needed anything. As she approached the door, she heard voices coming from inside.

"Suspend," Kumo whispered; and at that command, several Crucifix Spiders soon crawled from cracks and crevasses in the walls and began to build a strong web around her torso, arms, and legs. They attached the web to the ceiling and she silently leaped up and held onto the web, allowing the spiders to tightly cling her to the ceiling. Now hidden from anyone who may walk through the door, she listened.

"...Kumo, send word back and we will take the necessary precautions. I can only hope that the Feudal Lord will understand, along with the village." Tsunade was explaining something to someone, and it was about her? And what Feudal Lord?

The door opened and two men walked out – Kakashi and Gai. What did they have to do with this? She figured it was best to follow them. As the Ninjas walked down the hall, Kumo waited for the spiders to tear away the support webs before cutting the rest of off of her with the kunai in her pocket. Once on the floor, she set up a team of scout spiders – the trite longula – which were a species of jumping spiders, naturally living on leaves or trees, their color fitting in with the forest surroundings. These scouts would keep ahead of Kumo and trail closely behind Gai and Kakashi. Her second team consisted of several Wolf spiders, masters of quick reactions and creating traps – their duty was to detect any traps if Kakashi and Gai decided to set any up if they noticed someone following them.

As Kumo followed the two men, she found herself in a forest. They were moving fast, giving her a bit of difficulty dodging and keeping track of where she was going. Why were they in a hurry? If the issue was about her, there must be something going on that has to do with why she can't remember what happened before the hospital.

"What do you mean she's missing?!" Tsunade slammed her hands flat on her desk.

Kaishaku kept her head lowered in shame as she winced at the Hokage's reaction to her report. "We had an argument this morning. Kumo started having dreams of her past and asked me if I knew anything. I had told her to go meet Rock Lee and Naruto since they were suppose to train together today, so when she ran out of the apartment, I thought she was with them."

"And she wasn't?" Tsunade eyed the two boys standing on either side of the Medical Ninja.

They both replied, "No, ma'am," each knowing that this was serious.

"We can't hesitate to start searching for Kumo. If she learns anything of how she ended up here, she'll be a danger to everyone – including herself." Tsunade shooed the three Ninja to begin their search, "Go find that girl before the worst comes to pass!"

There wasn't even a bother in responding to Tsunade as Kaishaku, Lee, and Naruto dashed out the office, knowing that wasting even a second would only tick her off even more.

Sighing, the Hokage walked around her desk and stepped into the hallway, "Why is it that the moment Naruto is involved, things go wrong until the last minute?"

"Maybe it's his charm," Shizune replied behind her boss.

"Hmph," Tsunade felt a strand of hair fall onto her face, and it was tickling her uncomfortably. She brushed it back into its proper place, but when she found the strand sticking to her fingers, she became curious and studied the white, rugged string. "This is..." Tsunade looked up, Shizune following suite, and cursed at the mess of broken spider webs on the ceiling. "She must have heard me when Kakashi and Gai where here!"

Approaching the Feudal Lord Yuki, Kakashi and Gai eyed Kusuke to make sure he didn't run off; they knelt before Yuki and state their business of delivering a letter. Kumo watched from a hidden distance, peering from behind an opened door that lead to where the throne room was contained. Lord Yuki opened the letter and quickly read it, expecting nothing more than further meddling; he was right about the meddling, but to his surprise, he had to read over the letter again.

Glancing at Kusuke and then to the Leaf Village Ninja, Yuki thought over the reasoning put into the letter. Everything matched up perfectly. Kumo wasn't the type of Kunoichi to use her spiders against innocent people. Kusuke, however, had been acting rather suspicious from when his son died to the moment he heard Kumo was dead. With a hard stare into the two Ninja's eyes, he simply asked, "Are you sure?"

"Read the back of page one," Kakashi replied.

In doing so, Yuki read allowed, "We have her."

At that, Kusuke knew exactly what was going on; he was caught red handed, but he wasn't caught. In desperation to get away, he tried to make a run for the only door leading out. "Don't run, Kusuke," Gai called out and blocked the Advisor's way.

"S-she's alive!" A man's voice shrieked in terror from the hall. "Kumo's alive!"


	8. Chapter 8

**_Yay! Finally finished the story! X3 Again, sorry it took so long... New job and all and a whole new sleep schedual. lol Enjoy! And thank you so much for reading! _**

**_aslo love me some reviews, too... .;_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Naruto main plots. All I own from this fanfic are Kumo and the fanfic's main plot. My friend owns Kaishaku.**

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Chapter 8

At the moment of Tsunade's discovery that Kumo had spied on Kakashi and Gai, she sent out two slugs to locate and advice Kaishaku, Lee, and Naruto to make a mad dash to the Bloom Village before Kumo was discovered. Surely, if a villager were to see the supposedly deceased kunoichi, there would be a sort of chaos to ensue.

The slugs did manage to find the three and informed them of Kumo's possible whereabouts. They did, indeed, make a mad dash to the Bloom Village. It would take them at least an hour and thirty minutes if they continued their speed. Kaishaku worried that with all the time that had passed since Gai and Kakashi had left to Bloom Village, Kumo was surely already in trouble.

"The spider girl has come back for revenge!" Villages and servants of the Feudal Lord panicked and ran around, afraid to be swarmed with the venomous arachnids that Kumo was able to summon.

Kusuke took this opportunity to shove Gai out of his way and disappear amongst the running citizens. Kumo realized that she had been noticed and tried to escape, but Kakashi spotted her as she appeared from behind the door, and stopped her. Gai darted passed them to chase after Kusuke, hoping he could see the man out of the gathering crowd, which he noticed was growing into an angry mob.

"Kakashi! We have a problem," Gai called to his teammate, who was pulling a struggling Kumo along with him.

In the back of the mob, Kusuke drove the people to continue hating Kumo for his own crimes, convincing them tat the girl should be killed on the spot this time. He was even turning them against Lord Yuki. "Our Lord has sided with this murderer! He wants to protect Kumo from what she deserves!"

"Please! My people!" Lord Yuki walked around to be in front of Kakashi and Kumo, "This Leaf Village ninja have explained to me that Kumo is _not_ the murderer; Kusuke is! I've received a letter from the Hokage, herself." He held the pages high so all the villagers could see, but they didn't seem to back down. From what they could see, Kumo was a kunoichi who controlled spiders, the victims were killed by spiders, which added up perfectly for them.

"Kakashi, we need to get these two somewhere safe," Gai suggest. "These villagers trust Kusuke too much."

"I have a safe room further into the building," Yuki replied. "But, hiding won't persuade them to understand."

Kakashi turned around and rushed in the direction of the safe room, "We'll work that out when we captured Kusuke." He only took four steps before he was pulled back by Kumo's weight and startled by a yelp. Turning back around, he found a villager with a knife in his hand, stabbed into Kumo's calf. Just as the man pulled out his knife to attack again, Kakashi jerked Kumo toward him and lifted her into his arms. With one villager brave enough to attack, the rest gathered their courage to rush after the four who were trying to escape. Lord Yuki lead the team down the halls, closing and locking doors behind themselves to slow down the mob. Once reaching the safe room, Lord Yuki searched himself for the key.

"It's... it's not with me!" The Feudal Lord exclaimed in shock. "Kusuke must have stolen the key at some point."

"With your permission, Lord Yuki, we may have to fight off the villagers. I don't think your guards can handle all of those people much longer."

Yuki nodded and sighed. "Fight them if you must, but please do everything you can not to kill them."

They could hear the ranting and thudding of the villagers bursting open doors as they grew closer and closer. Yuki gazed at Kumo as she held her wounded leg, trying to keep pressure on it to slow the bleeding. He felt so horrible that he had let this get out of hand. It was even more painful that he now knew that Kumo had no idea why she was being attacked by a village that she didn't remember ever being to. As Kakashi set the girl down against a wall, Lord Yuki crouched in front of her and simple said, "I'm sorry, Kumo." He knew he couldn't tell her what was going on.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Came Lee's voice from behind the door, and it flew open and off the hinges, along with a few villagers who were in the way of his attack. He, Naruto, and Kaishaku rushed in, Naruto and Lee taking fighting stance near the doorway as Kaishaku ran to Kumo and Kakashi.

"She's injured; take care of it while we fight off the mob," the Copy Ninja commanded. Kaishaku nodded and knelt in front of Kumo with an apologetic expression on her face. Kakashi and Gai joined their students in defending.

After getting a taste of what Lee and Naruto could do, the villagers were hesitant to fight the four ninja, but they were determined to get the revenge that they were brainwashed to desire. First, two villagers attacked, then six, and the numbers continued to grow until all fifty-something of them fought to squeeze through the door and get to the ninjas. The four ninja defended against the people, knocking them down and out as quickly as possible before more come rushing in. Some would manage to get passed them, but were soon brought down. One villager recovered from a blow to the head and realized he was behind Gai, which meant he could sneak to Kumo and Lord Yuki.

Kaishaku had quickly finished cleaning and mending Kumo's stab wound, and helped the girl to stand by using herself as support. Yuki pointed out there was another exit from the room that they could escape from. As Kaishaku looked back to make sure the boys would be fine, she noticed the male villager rushing toward herself and Kumo, rearing up a kunai to stab the girl. The thought didn't even have time to process that she was risking her own life before Kaishaku swung Kumo behind her and stepped in the way of the rushing kunai.

Realizing his weapon had sunk into the chest of the wrong person, the man backed off and tried to gather his thoughts. Of course, he didn't even have time to do that – Kumo took action and lunged for him, beating her fists into his face and breaking skin until her knuckles became stained in his blood. She then crawled back to Kaishaku, who now rested in Yuki's arms as her mouth dribbled in blood. The woman's lung had been pierced deep, and there wasn't a thing anyone could do for her; Kaishaku was drowning.

"No, don't," Kumo tried wiping the blood from her caretaker's mouth. The tiny spiders that would heal Kumo came rushing over and entered the woman's stab wound. "Please don't." Kumo began to cry.

Kaishaku coughed and ran her hand through the girl's hair, keeping the warm smile that she always had for Kumo. Her eyes grew heavy as her body weakened from the lack of oxygen and blood. She coughed, just slightly, and then closed her eyes.

It was bad enough that Kumo didn't know why she was being chased and despised by the villagers, but for Kaishaku, the closest mother-figure she had since her newfound memories could remember, to be killed for the same unknown reason – this was a trigger that blew her mind so out of proportion, that her memories of why she was hated by the Bloom Village rushed back at her with one solid force. Her head ached tremendously; she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow, sending her stress levels to maximum, which caused masses of different spiders to crawl out of every available inch of the building and began to attack any living being in the way.  
"Get the other two out of here!" Kakashi commanded Gai, Naruto and Lee. He charged up a chidori and fought off the swarming spiders, keeping close behind his comrades as the spiders literally disintegrated when they connected with his highly concentrated chakra.

Gai spotted Kaishaku in Yuki's arms and glanced back at Kakashi before taking the woman and nodding for the boys to gather the shocked Yuki. The five, directed by Yuki, escaped before the spiders ran out of villagers and guards to kill; Kakashi held back as many as he could as he followed behind. Kumo remained behind, the pain in her mind surging and sending her to the floor as the spider kunoichi curled into at tight, writhing ball and clawed at her head, trying to dig out the source of her pain by any means necessary.

Once reaching a safe distance outside of the village, the team stopped to collect themselves. Gai gently laid Kaishaku's body on the ground and cringed to fight back his tears. Sure, he didn't know Kaishaku too closely, but he knew the young woman enough to ache over her death. He glanced to Kakashi and noticed the masked man look rather disappointed as he absorbed the realization that eh woman who had confronted him only to days ago was killed after finally being in his team – though that wasn't planned. Naruto and Lee were confused, crushed, and even a little frightened; only Lord Yuki had seen that it was a villager, no Kumo, who had killed Kaishaku, which he soon explained once everyone settled down.

"Kakashi," not taking his eyes off of Kaishaku, Gai caught his rival's attention. "Take everyone back to Konoha and have a burial for her. I need to find Kumo."

"She's too dangerous, Gai, Kakashi replied, scowling at the black haired man. "You saw that she called those spiders to her. We can't get back inside the building."

With a sigh, Gai turned back to Bloom Village and began walking, "I'm her sensei; it's my duty to keep my students safe."

"Let me come with you, Gai-sensei!" Rock Lee chased after his teacher. "I am her teammate." Gai allowed him to come along.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Lord Yuki didn't bother to stop the two and began their journey back to Konoha Village, Kakashi carrying Kaishaku's body. They would reach their destination within four to give hours, depending on how quickly they moved.

The small palace of Bloom Village was quiet and eerie. A few spiders crawled away at the sounds of Gai and Lee's footsteps as they cautiously walked down the halls. Gai wondered if Kusuke was killed in the swarm, though he secretly hoped the man had lived so he could be imprisoned and get what punishments Yuki would bestow upon him.

Once the two reached the room Kumo was last seen in, they paused to take in the gruesome scene of bodies littered on the floor, their skin discolored and already rotting away due to the loads of venom pumped into their veins. If anything, the people didn't live long enough to feel the brutal effects. Lee spotted Kumo curled up with her back against the wall and ran to her, "Kumo-kun!" He was stopped in his tracks when his sensei grabbed his arm and spun the boy around.

"Don't look, Lee," Gai stared hard into his student's eyes until the boy nodded obediently. At that, the man walked passed Lee and slowly approached Kumo.

Gai had seen the blood stained in the girl's hair and immediately knew what she had done. He slowly moved his eyes over Kumo's still body, cringing at the sight of her shredded scalp; Gai could see the white of her skull gently peeking from under the still wet blood; he noticed some of the girl's hair and skin were trapped under her fingernails as the man's gaze moved to her face, and he crouched, brushing the messy ocean blue hair out of Kumo's face. If he hadn't been use to the frights of death and battle, Gai would have jumped back when he saw Kumo's wide, bloodshot, and teary eyes staring straight in front of her as if she were eagerly waiting for someone to come and save her from the internal pain. Sighing, Gai closed his student's eyes, uncurled her body, and re-braided what hair was still on her head; this hid the morbid sight from Lee and anyone else who would see Kumo. There was still blood, but her skull was decently hidden. He lifted Kumo into his arms and walked to Lee, "Let's get back home. There were no survivors."

Turning, Rock Lee glanced at Kumo's motionless body and nodded.

That afternoon, the sun was ironically bright for the event that took place in Konoha. Not many attended, simply because not many knew the two people who guest-starred for it. Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura, Naruto, Lee, Kakashi, Gai, Lord Yuki, and a few other people who knew Kaishaku from the hospital (her parents had died a few years back during a mission), were all gathered around two gravestones that lied next to each other in the Konoha graveyard.

"After all the effort of regaining the villagers' respect for Kumo, Kusuke still got what he wanted," Lord Yuki remarked. "Kumo never got what she wanted, though."

"She did," Tsunade replied. "We respected her; Kaishaku loved her. As far as she knew before she died, Kumo belonged to Konoha."

"Kaishaku didn't deserve her fate, though," Kakashi inputed.

"No," Gai agreed, "but I don't think she would have been happier with Kumo gone. When I carried her out of the palace, I noticed a smile frozen on her lips."

Tsunade turned to Lord Yuki and asked him, "What will you do now that your village is depleted of its people?"

With a gentle smile, Yuki kept his gaze on the gravestones and replied, "If you don't mind, I would like to remain in Konoha and work by your side. My experience as a Feudal Lord may come in handy for you."

This request was accepted, and Yuki discontinued the existence of the Bloom Village. Life went on in Konoha, just as it always did. A funeral was mourned, and soon it was also brushed aside to hide deep in the back of the minds of those who knew it happened. There wasn't time to sulk around over dark emotions, for Konoha still had to prepare for the battles with Orochimaru.


End file.
